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Source: Imidaily- The European Commission is signalling a harder line toward Caribbean citizenship-by-investment programs (CIPs), saying the existence of such programs “in itself” may now constitute grounds for suspending visa-free travel to the Schengen area.
In its 8th annual Visa Suspension Mechanism report, the Commission appears to be shifting its language on CIPs programs away from centering “genuine links” concerns and toward characterizing any CBI operation by visa-free nations as an inherent security threat.
“The operation of such programmes constitutes, in itself, a ground for suspending the visa-free status of third countries,” reads the report.
The policy evolution marks a significant tightening of Brussels’ position on CBI programs.
While the report continues to identify the absence of genuine links as one of three risk factors that intensify security concerns, the Commission appears to no longer require demonstrating this deficiency to act against CBI programs.
Commission Zeroes In on Caribbean CIPs
The report identifies Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia as operating programs that pose a significant and ongoing challenge of “much greater scale” than similar schemes in the EU’s immediate neighborhood.
Between them, the five countries have issued over 100,000 passports through their CBI programs, with applications remaining high at 13,113 in 2023 and 10,573 in 2024.
The Commission expressed particular concern about the adequacy of security vetting procedures, noting that processing times remain short while rejection rates remain “very low.”
In 2024, the Commission says, Antigua and Barbuda rejected just 1.7% of applications, Saint Lucia 5.3%, and Dominica 6.5%.
The report acknowledges steps taken by the five nations in response to previous EU concerns, including harmonizing the minimum investment threshold at $200,000, strengthening security screening, and establishing common standards for information-sharing and transparency.
Yet, the Commission states plainly that the situation continues to raise significant concern.
Effective Ultimatum to Caribbean CIPs?
In its formal recommendations to the five Eastern Caribbean countries, the Commission says they should take all necessary measures to ensure adequate security vetting of applicants “pending the discontinuation” of those schemes, according to the report’s annexes.
The wording appears to explicitly contemplate eliminating Caribbean CBI programs rather than focusing on improved due diligence or genuine connections, which the report frames as interim measures rather than long-term solutions.
Under the revised mechanism, failure to address Commission recommendations can trigger formal procedures that ultimately result in the suspension of visa-free travel.
The visa-suspension mechanism Caribbean nations may face is already being tested on Georgia, which drew severe EU scrutiny in the same report for “democratic backsliding.”
Brussels said it will suspend visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic, service, and official passports by the end of December as a first phase, with the possibility of extending restrictions to all Georgian citizens if authorities fail to address its recommendations.
The phased approach could establish a template that applies to any visa-free country found to be in breach of EU requirements or the Commission’s recommendations.
While the Commission specified no concrete deadlines, it said countries must demonstrate measurable progress toward compliance “without delay” or risk triggering formal suspension procedures.
EU Candidate Countries “Must Abolish Schemes”
For countries seeking EU membership, the Commission reiterated that compliance with EU law requires candidate countries to abolish existing investor citizenship schemes and to repeal the legal basis for such schemes.
This follows an April 2025 European Court of Justice ruling that found Malta breached EU law by operating a CIP and established that member states cannot implement naturalization schemes based on transactional procedures.
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Pretty soon we will not be able to get on a plane without a visa. USA not processing our new visa applications, Canada requires visas and now the EU have plainly stated that they will revoke visa free status if we don’t eliminate CIP. UK is the only remaining visa free country and they may well decide to do to us what they did to Dominica and revoke visa free status over CIP.
🗣️China 🇨🇳 wants 👉🏿 U, but head to Africa instead where you’ll fit in a little bit easier. Just don’t fly Air Peace for now.
Gaston you’d better revise your budget figures by reducing the projected CIP monies for 2026.
When it rains, it pours!
WHAT THE HELL…! …REVENUE GENERATION: 6-MONTHS – US$6. 6 MILLION:
WHY IS THE ‘…EU’ CALLING THE CBI ‘…SCHEMES…?
***
SOME DARN THING DOES NOT:
(i) ‘…SEEM RIGHT:
(ii) …SOUND RIGHT: and
(iii) …FEEL RIGHT: and even
(iv) …SMELL RIGHT.’
***
FISH SCENT OR FISH STENCH:
***
No one knew if it was:
(a) ‘…A FISCH SCENT: or
(b) …FISH STENCH.
***
WHAT THE HELL…!
***
Still, if what they smell was ‘…SMELT: and gave off
(i) ‘…FISHY: SCENT: then
(ii) ‘…IT COULD NO DARN THING ELSE, BUT ‘…FISH.’
***
PONDERING AND LINGERING QUESTIONS:
***
The ‘…PoONDERING AND LINGERING QUESTIONS: are
(i) ‘…WHY DO THE ‘…EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES’ REFER TO THE ‘…CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT PROGRAMMES, AS ‘..SCHEMES: and
(ii) …WHY THIS CAME AFTER THE ‘US’ ANNOUNCED ‘…VISA-ISSUING SUSPENSION (VIS) TO NATIONALS OF CERTAIN COUNTRIES?’
***
Well, those who have:
(a) ‘…EARS TO HEAR: and
(b) …A GOOD SENSE OF UNDERSTANDING, SHALL BE ABLE TO DEDUCE FROM ‘…INTERNATIONAL MEDIA REPORTS.
***
TBI AFRICA:
THE BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (TBI) AFRICA,’ REPORTED: that
(a) ‘…BETWEEN JANUARY TO JUNE, 20 24:
(b) …SOME 66-NIGERIANS WERE ISSUED ‘…ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA PASSPORTS: at
(c) …THE COST OF US$100,000 P/P: to
(d) …THE OVERALL REVENUE-TUNE OF $6.6 MILLION’ [TBI AFRICA: JUNE 25, 2024].
***
DANGEROUS ‘…TIMES CARIBBEAN NEWS’
Then an apparent ‘…DANGEROUS TIMES CARIBBEAN NEWS REPORTED:
‘…THE REPORT, TABLED IN PARLIAMENT ON OCTOBER 15, 2024, SENT RIPPLES ACROSS:
(a) ‘…THE REGION: and
(b) …INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES: thereby
(c) …SHINING SPOTLIGHT ON THE ‘…VISA-FREE-ENTRY ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA CITIZEN BY INVESTMENT PROGRAMME (TO THE NIGERIAN ELITE)’ [Times Caribbean: and Naijapreneur.com: June 1, 2024].
***
FLY SAFELY FROM ‘…NIGERIA TO BARBADOS.’
***
Well, the EU has now unequivocally stated that if we continue CIP, our visa free status will be revoked. No longer a matter of fixing CIP. Antigua Government, what you gonna do?
american passport is called the golden ticket it was going for 1 million, it not wealthy ppl can afford passports if c.i.p. charging nearly 1/4 million for theirs . if the fight against immigration is proletariat class and is wealthy ppl have the money to buy the passports, isn’t wealthy ppl the ones making businesses and investing? why this sound like enviousness than actual security threat. they don’t kick out millionaires in immigration….sooooo who they really baring out the countries from? plus antigua doing well and there’s transparency with c.i.p. ….isn’t this just bullying or trying to control other countries bread?
Our stubborn pig-headed Prime Minister wouldn’t listen to the outctrys in the past, when many critical thinking Antiguans wanted the Citizen Investment Programme (CIP) tightened.
Browne always thinks he knows best. But if he’d done some sort of brainstorming with other better qualified administrators, then maybe, just maybe the country wouldn’t find themselves in the current mess they’re in.
Chet, breakup the Bird-Browne dynasty nah man
Unfortunately, listening is not this PM forte,and the citizens of Antigua has paid severely for it.
America, and now the EU, just didn’t come up with this grand idea to block visa free access, duh!
The small island states in the Caribbean were warned, and more than likely that warning was backed by the intelligence community of those two nations.
These people know where all the dirty money goes, Antigua doesn’t have the capacity to know that, they didn’t even know that Allen Sanford was as crookish as they come, so sometimes just listen nah.
Someone slipped through the cracks, and more than likely they used Antigua or Dominica to do that. So, now you have the US and EU intelligence people warning their higher ups, and here you are seeing these briefings coming out.
But hey, we have some naive leaders here in Antigua that doesn’t know how to read a room, and ignored the warnings and got caught..
All this scrambling could have been avoided.
I just hope that the Antigua public know how serious this latest sanction on the Visa application is.
If they are tightening up on visas, it would be almost impossible now to even get an interview, much less be granted a Visa to these nations.
Browne has his Diplomatic pass, so he doesn’t give a damn.
This is a massive blow, not only to the people who need to travel abroad, but to the overall psychic of the people of Antigua.
We are seen as criminals..not good.
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